July 4th saw 4 Rutlanders set out to cover 102 miles of the Peak District on a Windy morning in Sheffield to join 300 others to raise funds for Action Medical Research, a charity supporting research into diseases affecting children and babies.
Andy Ralph, John Smallwood, Marc Jacobi and Wojtek Siodelski left Sheffield Tigers’ Rugby ground with a smile which was soon to be wiped off their eager faces when they found that the only flat stretch of the ride was from Bamford to Hope.

The climbs were relentless from Mam Nik until the finish. Horrendous headwinds around Macclesfield and the surrounding moors made the stretch after lunch really hard. John had a broken chain at about 40 miles and Andy got cramp at about 90 miles.
We rolled back into the Tigers after about six and a half hours riding. John and Andy were then grateful for a free massage, courtesy of the event staff.

The event was well organised with support vehicles and a great lunch stop. It is running again next year on 26th June as the peak district 100.

Nick Latimer put all the fitness he’d built up from short 10 mile time trials to good use by riding the end-to-end in 7 days with cycling buddy Simon Hearne. 130 miles per day was a bit of a shock to the system and for the last few days of the ride pretty much every bodily part hurt – knees, back, neck, thighs, quads, calves, feet, wrists. My stomach was ok, but when we arrived in John O’Groats at 7.30pm after a monster 135 mile day into a fierce coastal headwind and discovered that we couldn’t have a photo next to the famous sign because they take it down at 5pm to stop people dodging the £10 photo fee I was almost sick. So you can add stomach to the list too.

The ride was monstrously hard, the prevailing wind let us down as we faced a headwind for 6 days out of 7, and our bodies were pushed to limits they’d never even contemplated before. After 7 days (54 hours, 38 minutes and 13 seconds in the saddle), 908 miles (average speed 16.6mph), and 13,133 metres climbed (who knew how hilly GB is – that’s 1.5 times the height of Mount Everest) we rolled into John O’Groats broken men. Since the end of the ride I’ve been experiencing some pretty nasty muscle cramps, to the extent that the longest I’ve managed to stay on a bike without being forced off due to pain is 8 minutes! It was a great ride though, and all for charity too. If anyone’s interested in a blow-by-blow account of the ride, go to http://bloodsweatandtyres.blogspot.com/

And for anyone wishing to give to a good cause, we did the ride for Beating Bowel Cancer (http://www.justgiving.com/NickandSimon) and the Haemophilia Society (http://www.justgiving.com/simonandnick)

Nick Latimer rode the Doncaster Wheelers 25 mile TT on Sunday 6th June, taking
on torrential rain and waterlogged roads to pick up third place.

The organisers almost decided to cancel the event after constant heavy rain in the
early hours of Sunday, which continued until just after the last rider
finished.

After lots of DNS and DNFs there were only 28 finishers, with David
Robinson of Lindsey Roads taking the win in 57.45. Nick scraped under the hour
with a new PB of 59.11.

Last night saw a foggy and mildly moist Sheffrec road race up at the Baslow triangle course. It was a well run event by the SheffRec and I managed to win it so all was good. A big thank you goes to out to Marc and all of the SheffRec for putting on the event and giving up there time to Marshall.

54 riders departed from the Fox and Goose for the first Sheffrec CC / JE James evening road race. Damp but ever drying conditions met the riders for 17 laps of the 2.2 mile Barlow Triangle on the outskirts of Sheffield. The days previous heavy rain had caused race organisers problems and had to spend well over an hour sweeping the corners and making sure the mud washed from nearby fields was removed from the circuit. Many thanks to marshals and in particular Pete Dungworth for his efforts with shovel and broom!

The first attack of the evening came on lap 2 from race sponsors JE James rider, Charles Tennick but by the following lap he was safley back in the bunch who were looking like they’d completed the Paris Roubaix with mud sprayed over most of the bunch riders. Furth attacks came on laps 3, 4 and 5 with unattached rider Ben Thomas gaining a slight advantage over the bunch. By lap 6 all was back together with a few riders drifting off the back due to the three sharp corners that we making the race more like a crit than an open road race.

The first Science in Sport Prime came at 7 laps and was easily claimed by Chris Metcalfe riding for Matlock CC. Most riders looked content to just sit in the main bunch and wait to make their moves. The major move of the night came from local rider Danny Lowthorpe riding for Rutland CC. Danny soon gained a 20 second advantage over his rivals. On lap 9, two riders emerged from the bunch to successfully bridge the gap and join forces to ensure that this was a race winning move. The group of now 3 was made up of original instigator Danny Lowthorpe, VS Cycles Dominic Turner and another local rider, Tony Grassby from Peak Road Club. These guys meant business and soon pulled out at 40 second advantage with most riders willing just to remain in the shelter of the main bunch.

The closing laps saw the trio of Grassby, Turner and Lowthorpe further extend their lead to 1 minute and the winner of the race would now come from this move. A late surge by Paul Allen of Wakefield CC and team mate of Grassby, Steve Gibson meant that they escaped the main pack but never really made an impact on catching the 3 riders up the road. The last lap came and still the 3 riders were together as the bell rang. The crowds gathered at the finish line it was Danny Lowthorpe who emerged from the mist to take the win in style. Dan had made a jump on the penultimate climb and this saw him cross the line with 15 seconds to spare from his 2 breakaway companions.

The pairing of Grassby and Turner claimed the remaining podium places with Dominic Turner edging out Tony Grassby just before the line. A further 34 seconds back came Steve Gibson and Paul Allen to claim 4th and 5th. The bunch sprint for 6th was won by JE James rider Charles Tennick just seeing off Luke Allen, Doncaster Wheelers and local veteran rider Rob Blackburn also from JE James RT. The top 10 was rounded of by Craig Wilson from Birdwell Wheelers and Ben Last of Sportscover Strategic.

For those of you who rode in the Fred Whitton, or anyone who is thinking of riding in the future…There is an informative little video about the event posted on the LakeTV site. Essential viewing, especially if you know Adam who makes an appearance near the end of the video crossing the line with his arms in the air (see 4:52 in) !!!

Fred Whitton video

While we are on the on the subject of Adam congratulations on your marathan win at the weekend. Adam won the White Peak Marathon in a time 3:10…great run mate !!!

I have had an email from Colin Clews organiser of the famous East Midlands International Cicle classic with an open invitation to a pasta party to all our club members.

In conjunction with the East Midlands CiCLE Challenge Sportifs on Sunday 4th July, one of our main CiCLE Classic sponsors “Dolmio Pasta” (MARS UK) have asked to stage on the evening of Saturday 3rd July a FREE pasta party to which cycling club members from the East Midlands are invited as a THANK YOU to you for your support and contribution to the amazing success of the International CiCLE Classic over the past six years.

Venue for the Pasta party, which will start at around 6.00 pm will be the King Edward VII Sports Centre, Burton Road, Melton Mowbray

This a completely ‘without strings’ invitation; you do not have to be a competitor in the Sportif the following day etc; although if you wish to enter then we are happy to have you with us. It is a genuine THANK YOU from the organisation of the CiCLE Classic and one of its sponsors who wish to pay tribute to your efforts and support of the race.

If anyone does wish to enter the sportif however, places are still available online at www.eastmidlandsciclechallenge.co.uk or hard copy entry forms can be obtained from www.cicleclassic.co.uk

If anyone fancies going along add a comment to this post or email me on info@rutland.cc and I will send a single list of attendees to Colin before the event.

Marc Mallendar and Nick Latimer flew the flag for Rutland at the
Sheffrec 10 mile TT on the Hatfield Woodhouse course. Marc put in a
great ride to finish 2nd with a 21.29, and Nick sneeked into the top 10
with a new pb, 22.33 in 9th place. The hot temperatures made it a
sweaty affair, but compared to the Yorkshire Championships a few weeks ago which took place in 5 degrees and 30mph winds, the conditions were excellent. Nick was riding for the first time on a TT bike, with a disc wheel. While this undoubtedly shaved seconds off his time, Marc pointed out that the most important thing is that they “sound fast”.

As an aside, it should be noted that Marc, Nick and Nick’s Mrs. were the
envy of the other clubs due to their brand new Rutland CC t-shirts –
cheers Danny!

Full results are here

Well done guys and thanks to Nick for the report !!!

The Fred Whitton is well renowned as one of the hardest Sportive events on the calendar. It’s also one of the most over subscribed events on the calendar. This one sells out faster than spice girls concert…(or whatever the modern equivalent are called). This year three brave Rutland riders took up the challenge. Below Adam gives us his first hand account of the event…Enjoy!!!

Having heard the horror stories about how hard the Fred Whitton is, I wasn’t hugely disappointed when I didn’t get a place. So when Wojtek emailed me and explained he’d inadvertently got two (a charity and a ballot entry), it was with considerably less than 100% enthusiasm that I accepted his kind offer of the spare.

Fast forward a few months and we were driving up to the Lake District, watching the trees at the side of the road bend over in the 40mph gusts and worrying about the bikes on the roof rack. Fortunately the morning of the ride dawned calm and clear, and Wojtek, Tom and I rolled over the start line together at 7.15am in high spirits. We passed hordes of people on the first climb, including the obligatory chubby bloke wearing a King of the Mountains jersey and someone riding a hand-cranked recumbent (!). Some over-exuberant through-and-off for the first ten miles or so and I thought we were owning the race, that is until Rob Jebb (I think) and two other riders passed us like we were standing still. I tried to jump on a wheel and promptly nearly crashed into a pickup truck.

It was around this point that Wojtek sensibly decided to ease off a little and conserve his energy for the hills to come. Tom and I continued at a fairly rapid pace, however, which I was concerned I would regret in an hour or two. I couldn’t help but try and figure out Peak District equivalents for the various climbs: the first, Kirkstone, was a Froggatt-esque long and steady ascent, and Honister, the second pass, a real bottom gear grind like Winnats. If it was this bad now, how could I possibly get up the infamous Hardknott and Wrynose in another 70 miles?

During the middle part of the ride we found various people to work with, notably a chap from Cookson Cycles in Bury who absolutely crucified himself on the flat section along Ullswater towing us along at 25-30mph. Unfortunately he disappeared off the back as soon as the road turned uphill again. Another Cookson Cycles rider ( Shaun), Tom and I stayed together until the second feed station at 85 miles, but Tom’s superior strength on the hills was becoming ever clearer. He broke away for good at the bottom of Eskdale, the long valley leading to the foot of the 30% gradient Hardknott pass. I was really suffering by this point and Shaun left me behind too.

I’d been warned by Wojtek that Hardknott doesn’t really start until you pass a red phonebox, but by the time that came into site the climb was twenty minutes old already. As promised though, it kicked up viciously and it took every bit of strength I had left to push my 34*25 bottom gear. Following a brief respite, another killer section reared into view and it was here that Shaun, 100 metres or so ahead of me, fell sideways off his bike with cramp. I managed to get to the top without pushing, but it wasn’t pretty.

Wrynose was much the same again, and summiting that I was relieved that I all I had to contend with now was another punishing descent and an easy eight mile coast to the finish line. Or so I thought. The last section actually included a final nasty climb, and if I hadn’t found a wheel to chase I would have been much slower. Crossing the finish line I was very impressed to see Tom already changed, fed and watered, and Wojtek rolled in not long after.

Tom Webb 6h42min

Adam Dunajko 6h47min

Wojtek Siodelski 7h28min

Location: CLECKHEATON
Report :
The Derek Smith Memorial Road Race – 25 April 201
Organised by the Halifax Imperial Wheelers, this was the first running of the Derek Smith Memorial RR on what was a new course for the club based on Hartshead Moor near Cleckheaton.

In the A/B race it was Darren Otter (Rutland CC) who won in what has become his signature fashion, alone and several minutes up on his chasers. The winning move was made with 6 laps to go (of the initial 10). Several riders immediately saw the danger and took chase. It was to no avail, Darren soon gained time and held a group of what was to become 3 chasers at over 2 minutes all the way to the finish. In the sprint for second place Richard Binks (Holme Valley Wheelers) beat the promoting club’s Sean Smith (and Derek’s son), these two taking first and second place in the Bs respectively. Paul Dixon (VS Cycles) finished fourth to claim second A.

Meanwhile John Hadfield (Rutland CC) took off alone in the latter stages of the C/D race. He said afterwards that it was seeing his team-mate Darren’s solo efforts that had inspired him. It proved to be a successful strategy as he too held off his chasers – winning the race alone. Again a small group of chasers were sprinting it out for second place with Paul Webster (Dinnington RC) getting the verdict from Chris Miller of the Clayton Velo (who claimed first place in the Ds). Mick Day of Paul Milnes Cycles finished fourth in the race and second D.
In the E/F/G race it was the turn of Mick Holmes (Batley CC) to solo to victory with Phil Etches (Witham Wheelers) and Kev Shand (West Pennine) having to settle for second and third respectively. First F was Jeff Hardy and, in what is becoming something of a habit, Jack Watson of MI Racing won the first G prize.

Thanks to Darren for the write up !!!